Deep in the mountains of Yukusho, the constant barrage of artillery could be heard. Soldiers are seen in defensive positions concentrated near 2 mountains. Countless amounts of men fire at one another, hoping to cause a change in the battle. These positions guarded the headquarters of one of the traitorous nobles, Yamabuki Hoshino. The 34th army has been dispatched to end the stalemate between loyalist and insurgent forces on the mountain.
“Captain Shi, how long do we have to hol-”
A bullet quickly found its way into the young private’s throat.
“That’s 6.” A young man with white hair picked up his sniper rifle from the ground. “To think the rebels would leave their defenses so careless.” He sighed with boredom and motioned for his teammates to move on.
“You guys should be clear.”
Three men donned in tactical gear set out towards the rebel HQ.
~~
The strut of the prince called the attention of the many men clad in military uniform in the war room. They all shouted in unison, “Welcome Prince Tadakatsu!”
Tadakatsu’s brilliant red eyes shined like rubies when he exchanged pleasantries with the officers. Among his soldiers, conversation came easy. One of them signaled for an aide to pour tea. “Come and get the peach tea! It’s his favorite!”
This was standard procedure whenever the prince showed up; he was well-loved among his officers of the 34th. Which was rare amongst other corps, most officers were at odds with their noble generals.
“You may take a seat,” Tadakatsu motioned for his officers to sit and went to the middle of the table. “Kazuki, what’s the current battle situation for the siege on the HQ?”
An officer who seemed slightly older than Tadakatsu spoke, “Your Highness, at the moment there’s currently a stalemate in the rebel’s favor, both sides are stuck holding defensive positions.” He pointed at various concentrations of rebels on the map. “I would note that the positions here, and here, are vulnerable from this side.”
Sipping some of his coveted peach tea, “How is Ground Team handling operations? I believe I provided them orders to help end the siege yes?” The Prince pointed at a rebel stronghold on the map, “If my specifications are correct, they should’ve successfully infiltrated this place already.”
“They’re on radio-silence right now. However, they radioed in at 1830 before they commenced their operation, and it’s been,” Kazuki checked his watch, “around four hours, if the operation is moving smoothly, your predictions should become true my prince.”
“If you say so Kazuki.”
His smile glowed with confidence, Hmm, going as expected.
~~
“Lieutenant, the squads stationed at the vanguard have stopped responding on the radio.”
A radio check conveniently came in to refute the young captain’s claim.
“This is Xi Squad, all clear on our end over!” The radio then went back to its standard static.
~~
“You’ll let me go now righ-”
A knife stopped the soldier’s begging in its tracks.
“Can’t have you running back to your superiors-now.” A tall blonde wiped the blood off his knife and placed it into its sheath. His gentle looks contrast with the way he almost instinctively took lives.
“Did you really have to kill this guy Kazama?”
“Captain, Captain, look he was a liability.”
“I agree with Kazama on this one.”A man walked out from a tree and cleaned his pistol. He had neat black hair and flashed a thumbs up towards Kazama.
“Really Tatsuo?” The captain almost said something, then paused for a second. “...Let’s get a move on, I’m pretty sure Tadakatsu-dono wants a check-in soon.”
“Heh.”
Kazama snickered and the trio moved on through the bush.
The trio soon reached the rebel stronghold, a well-hidden building that was composed of stone bricks. It was lower on the mountain and obscured itself among the trees. The greenery covered most of the walls like a blanket. Most of the windows were hidden with foliage but some unconcealed windows had men standing watch. Tatsuo remarked how poorly trained the soldiers looked. They held their guns amateurishly and one of them was sitting on a lawn chair. Some soldiers were seen patrolling around the perimeter of it.
“I’m a bit impressed the Rebel General has a place like this. It’s rare for rebels to create an HQ so long-lasted.” Noted the ever-curious Tatsuo. “Would you think his Highness would like this as a prize?”
Jun spoke up, “Knowing him, he would probably keep this place off the books and use it as a personal estate. I would probably do the same thing.” He scanned around. “I could see this place being used as a 34th operating base if Tadakatsu-dono permits it.”
“Whoa, I’m surprised you would say something so corrupt, oh noble Jun-san.” Kazama snickered a bit and stifled a laugh. He placed his bag down and laid on it.
To Jun, it was normal for the prince to do black operations. He had done so many times in many previous operations, often fudging budgets or changing battle reports, sometimes confiscating noble assets too. It was a well-kept secret that the 34th was, well, corrupt. De facto, the army was Tadakatsu’s private army. Tadakatsu only chose to follow Central’s orders. The higher-ups never questioned him due to his results and chipper willingness to follow orders. Only the higher nobles and generals at Central disliked Tadakatsu, but they couldn’t argue with good results.
Jun was aware of Tadakatsu’s benevolent nature and knew that his “corruption” was for the betterment of the 34th and himself. So his by-the-book nature didn’t consider Tadakatsu’s actions as violating anything of his personal codes.
“On a serious note, let’s wait for Shouchi-kun to get here, we’ll need his recon work before we can infiltrate the base.”
Jun similarly dropped his bag onto the ground and pulled out the instructions given by Prince Tadakatsu.
You are to read this once you arrive at the rebel stronghold at these coordinates, prepare for an infiltration mission. Your main goal is to capture the Rebel General Yamabuki Hoshino alive back to my compound. Secondly, either kill or capture any officers in the stronghold and likewise return them to base. An optional but still critical objective is to look for any assets that could contribute to the 34th’s war effort, undocumented weapons, ammo, or other valuables pertinent to the war effort. I ask these assets be documented in a report and given straight to me. Once this is read and understood by your team Jun, burn this paper.
A tired Shouichi soon walked up to their resting place, “What’s up guys, you wouldn’t believe what I just walked through.” He pulled out a radio kit, “This didn’t really help in moving either.”
“Oh really?” said both Jun and Kazama. The men shared a brief laugh before Shouichi spoke up.
“I had to evade some enemy patrols and walk through dozens of bushes.” He said before he brushed off some leaves. “It’s a small miracle I didn’t just take a nap on the way here.” The man chuckled a bit.
Shouchi wasn’t a weakling in athletics, he was top of his class in the Sniper Corps. However, compared to the rest of Ground Team, his physical prowess was remarkably average. Standard training made Jun primarily used to sprinting with light loads but due to his responsibilities in the team he oftentimes had to lug the most equipment (his specially designed sniper rifle, recon equipment, and whatever special gear were needed. This time he had the radio equipment.)
“Shouichi, let’s get the radio set-up, I’m pretty sure the prince is troubled for news.” Tatsuo chimed in.
“Here, you can do it then.” Shouichi dropped his bag on the ground. He then sat down on a stump and pulled out a water flask.
Jun walked over and pulled the radio equipment out of the bag. Although the squad had radio communications already, rebel networks jammed most comms so specialized hardware was needed to communicate back and send pictures to HQ.
~~
“Sir we’ve received communication from Ground Team on the hidden frequency!” The aide told his commanding officer.
“Immediately send this is to Tadakatsu-dono; this message is of the utmost importance!” The officer yelled at the aide and pushed him out the door. “Go run!”
The aide opened the door and shouted, “Your Highness! Ground Team has sent a message to us!” He unrolled a paper, “Tadakatsu-dono, the mission is underway, expect good results.”
“Oh, how excellent.” The prince clapped a little bit and had a smile like a dazzling diamond. “Thanks for the message, you may return to your stations, Corporal Tetsuki.”
“You know my name?” The aide looked perplexed.
The prince kept his smile and proudly said “Of course I do!”
Tadakatsu made sure to at least learn most of the men’s names who resided in his HQ. It was an attempt to make himself seem more humble to his men. Although his memory wasn’t the greatest so he had stumbled sometimes, whenever that happens, a nearby officer usually chimes in to ease the situation.
~~
On a long and towering tree, Shouichi lays on a branch. He has most of his equipment hanging off branches above him. He liked things this way, it gave him a spider-like aura and made him feel like a hunting spider. Although it was a pain if he had to stay mobile as it involved unhanging all of his belongings.
His current task was to overlook the main trio while they infiltrated the rebel headquarters. There were 6 bodies laying on the ground with 5 bullets used. Shouichi usually left the bodies to Tatsuo, he rigged traps on them or disposed of them discretely. Squad hierarchy made Shouichi the recon specialist of the squad.
In Ground Team, the 4 guys each were specialized in one role. Tatsuo was the guy who handled special tactics, he had probably too much creativity. He was a frequent sight in the R&D department. Many scientists have complained about his constant quips and endless conversations about new ideas for weaponry. One time he had rigged a corpse to fire its sidearm when disturbed. That’s how a notable rebel colonel died when he was mourning him.
Then there was Jun, he was the steadfast squad leader. He had dropped out of officer school but was considered first-class during his time enrolled. Well-balanced is a phrase that suits him the most. The only reason he’s here was one of Central’s bureaucrats didn’t like him and dumped him in the 34th as a squad leader. A notable act of bravery on the field made Tadakatsu promote him as leader of Ground Team.
Finally, was the CQC specialist Kazama. A free-form murderous spirit of a man. Originally a part of the many intelligence organizations run by countless nobles in Seiryu, Kazama was personally hand-picked for the role in Ground Team. The prince had heard reports of a notable murderous black-ops operator and had to scoop him up for Ground Team. One could call him the needle in the haystack that pokes back.
~~
Click.
The lock fell to the ground. Kazama signaled over to Tatsuo to hurry setting up the bodies and told Jun that he finished. He opened the door to peek through it a little bit. A clear empty hallway, amazing. He spied a few doors but it was strangely empty.
Jun signaled to Shouichi to rendezvous with the squad. Infiltration of the compound needed all four members and extraction would’ve been arduous if Shouichi was holed up on a random tree.
Noticing the signal, Shouichi quickly loaded up his equipment. To speed things up, he did some flashy maneuvers to get stuff into his bag. Thankfully, he was highly precise so he didn’t drop anything. Then he set up a recon drone, he named it “Fahrenheit.” The drone can return to its user from anywhere and could be set up to conduct surveillance.
“Fahrenheit, direct your observations towards the road.” He pointed towards a dirt road that was at the rear of the stronghold. The drone hopped like a dog and beeped twice for “Affirmative!”
Shouichi had a strong affection towards the drone and it was he who requested the newly created dog AI module for his drone. He had always wanted a dog so this was the closest thing he could get as a military man. Although he had found it strange when he had told this to Tadakatsu in an interview and strangely the next day in equipment selection he had found the AI module among the others.
Once Shouichi finished bagging up his equipment, the team could see him head towards them. He was grappling and hopping from tree to tree.
Jun and Kazama went into the hallway while Tatsuo waited outside for Shouichi to arrive.
They proceeded deep into the building. Each step they made echoed louder and louder the further they went. They soon came upon a door that was boarded shut. The door reeked of old blood and a brutal struggle could be heard inside. Constant pounding also ravaged the walls which made the floor shake. Whatever was inside wasn’t human. Kazama walked over lockpick in hand.
Tatsuo and Shouichi came running down the hallway. “Sorry we’re a bit late,” said Shouichi, “An enemy patrol came by so we handled them.”
A massive punch made a massive indent into the wall. Its fist was firmly imprinted into the stone wall. Muffled but loud animalistic sounds could be heard.
“What the hell!” Kazama who was near the door did an agile jump away. Jun had instinctively pulled out his rifle. Shouichi had retreated into a shadow and Tatsuo reflexively had his hand on his sidearm.
“Orders Captain?” said Tatsuo.
“Let’s get out of here, we don’t want to be on the receiving end of whatever is in there.”
The squad ran up a flight of stairs and found themselves near the officer’s quarters.
~~
In the Rebel War Room, Yamabuki and his retinue were organizing a defense to hold off the Imperials until supplies came. Many plans were being drafted and being considered for execution.
Yamabuki was a true nobleman, a man who followed his people’s ideals. His people had chosen to rebel from the Seiryu and their ruler followed suit. Although it was rumored that the people were agitated to switch over to the Seiryu-Zetsu side of the civil war by outside agents. He was quickly offered generalship due to his experience in the trade conflict.
Kazama laid in wait underneath the floorboards while Shouichi and Jun were in position at the door. Tatsuo was behind the wall with a plastic explosive. They had organized a plan to restrain all the officers and their aides, then take them hostage.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“Listen, men, it’s time for our drink, we must ease our minds for the coming storm,” said the exalted Yamabuki.
All the officers had their aides pour them a glass. They soon raised a glass and said “Cheers!”
An explosion rang through the room and the men burst into the command room. Kazama emerged from the floorboards and put a gun to Yamabuki’s throat. The duo at the door held the officers at gunpoint and told them to surrender. From the hole in the wall, Tatsuo had kept the aides in order. The plan was executed perfectly.
Jun used the room’s radio equipment to contact Tadakatsu.
“Greetings Tadakatsu-dono, the operation was a great success.”
“Most excellent, Jun. I had no doubts on your success. I’ll call your evac; make sure to round up our prisoners. I’ll see you soon.”
The radio clicked and Jun told his squad to wrangle everyone together. They moved towards the roof.
~~
The three helicopters flew low to avoid detection through the mountains. Thankfully the Prince’s R&D connections secured him a few advanced silent helicopters that aided in this operation. Although he rarely used them for the intended purpose of espionage.
Tadakatsu’s personal engineer team had fitted one of the helicopters to be luxurious to be used for his private transport. It had some luxuries but Tadakatsu mainly wanted additions that helped him command from afar. It had a secure connection to the communications to his officers and had a screen where he could see his troop movements and issue commands directly if needed.
“Are you sure it’s right for you to show up too?” Kazuki questioned the prince in his seat.
Sipping some tea, “Nori-kun, It’s important to be around for the men, it helps to boost morale.” Tadakatsu laughed a little bit.
“Well normally showing up to the front would do that,” he sighed, “But we’re showing up to a black-ops mission and picking up some prisoners.”
“That’s the fun part!” The ever enigmatic Tadakatsu proudly exclaimed.
Kazuki mumbled to himself, “Why do I even try. This is going to be a long ride.”
“I have sharp ears ya know? Wanna play cards?” A set of cards magically appeared in his hands. “Cheating is something I can promise to not do this time.”
“You’re so inconsistent, I thought you said your hearing was terrible.” He sighed once more. “Wait you cheated last time?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Is that why I kept getting that one card?”
Tadakatsu simply coldly stared at Kazuki. Kazuki shared the same stare with him.
The two kept their eyes focused on one another for around 5 minutes until Tadakatsu burst out laughing.
“I give, I give! It was Edward-san who did that!”
“And you did it by proxy too huh.” He lamented.
~~
The helicopter fleet steadily got closer and closer to the stronghold. It was fit enough to hold Ground Team, the prisoners, and the Prince’s retinue consisting only of himself, Kazuki, and a few officers.. The prince’s chopper had a kitchen contained within it, where the officers and Tadakatsu drank tea.
Ground team situated themselves fairly on the roof of the stronghold. Jun watched the prisoners alongside Tatsuo who set up a rig that kept the prisoners in place. Shouichi was perched on a bunch of containers and was on the lookout for the Prince’s fleet while Kazama kept himself busy by doing maintenance on his weapons.
“Listen, guys, I think His Highness’s Fleet is approaching, prepare for exfil.” Shouichi said.
The group all agreed and prepared themselves. The hostages were rounded up and prepped for transport. One of the captured officers attempted to resist but Kazama chopped the back of his neck and he was out like a light.
The helicopters soon arrived and landed on the helipad. Tadakatsu stepped off one of them and invited Ground Team to board his personal helicopter. Kazuki directed Jun to lead the prisoners on board a different transport helicopter with guards inside.
“I thought the third chopper was for Ground Team,” Kazuki remarked.
“No, no, no I meant the ground team that would be looting this place.” Tadakatsu pointed at the building. “I’m quite sure this place is full of unexplored wealth and material.”
Jun hearing this immediately said, “If I may sir.”
“Permission granted.”
“there’s something unknown in this HQ. It seemed to be hostile and was to punch a large dent into a concrete wall.”
“Intriguing, this is the first I’ve heard of something like that. I’ll send a larger detachment later. As a reassurance, specific orders will be given to avoid the unknown creature.”
“Understood sir.” He saluted Tadakatsu and stepped into the helicopter.
~~
General Yamabuki found himself in a dark cell. He tried to move his arms but they were bound to the desk. A lamp shined brightly in his eyes and he seemed woozy.
“Greetings General, I assume the accommodations are fine?”
“You… So this is the Devil Prince.”
“Oh please, say that loudly outside and the soldiers will beat you up. Just call me Tadakatsu.” He had a broad smile on his face and he sipped some tea.
“What do you want you brat?”
Tadakatsu’s face straightened and he set his tea down. “If you want to be like that, tell me what was the thing in your basement?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about and even if I did I wouldn’t talk to the likes of you.”
He sighed and stood from the desk. “We’re done.” The door opened up which let in bright light that blinded Yamabuki, “I’m tired of these wretched nobles. Mujou deal with our guest.”
“Understood.” A man with cold dead eyes walked in.
That was Takeshi Mujou. Out of all people in Tadakatsu’s inner circle, he was the most ruthless, cold, and emotionless. Kazuki constantly doubted his personal loyalty to Tadakatsu, but he always remained steadfastly loyal to him. He had deserted from his previous officer and Tadakatsu saved him from trouble with the top brass. Albeit costing some of Tadakatsu’s favor with the other generals.
“So, you’re the next lowly person sent to deal with me huh,” Yamabuki yelled with scorn at Mujou.
“Your Highness, please close the door.”
“Would you want men posted at the door?”
“That would be unnecessary.”
Tadakatsu shut the door. Yamabuki’s eyes suddenly shot up and realized the graveness of the situation he was in. Tadakatsu flashed a smile at him through the small window and walked away.
It only took fifteen minutes for Mujou to break the general’s will. Mujou stepped outside and was cleaning his hand with a handkerchief. After all, It was hard for one’s hands to stay clean during torture after all.
On the interstellar link, Mujou called for two soldiers to guard the door. If one were to describe the subordinates of Tadakatsu, Mujou was the cold and heartless side of the command structure. However, he isn’t disliked; his place in the 34th is an essential one that most understand to be necessary.
~~
It was around sunset when a convoy was approaching the field HQ of Tadakatsu. It consisted of a few men on horses with a wagon. One of the horses was a noble white horse and the other two that surrounded were black horses. The typical tradition for a noblemen’s ride.
It was one of the generals who were in battle with the rebels, Marquis August Joachim Welten. He was one of the members of the conservative noble faction. Although he was considered a military man and seemed to be only interested in affairs involving the military.
A 34th patrol came and approached the convoy.
“Halt at once, you are approaching the headquarters of Grand Prince Tadakatsu.” The captain at the front said towards the convoy.
The two black horses stepped in front of August’s horse and guarded him. This sort of animosity was common among the military. Officially the Seiryu military is a unified army made up of the core branches, it is very faction-based. The only reason that the military seems to be strong is due to the consistent amounts of strong commanders among the rank and file. A close-to-home example would be Prince Tadakatsu himself.
One of the black guardsmen spoke, “The Marquis wishes an audience with Prince Tadakatsu to discuss military matters.”
“Only the Marquis shall pass under our protection to a meeting.”
The black guardsman spoke as if objecting, but August cut him off, “I understand, please lead me to Prince Tadakatsu.”
August turned back to the guardsman, “Please return to our headquarters, these gentlemen will take me.”
~~
The masked Kazama and Tatsuo pushed and prodded the stumbling Yamabuki towards the platform, then brought him to his knees. A triumphant Tadakatsu awaited the esteemed guest at the platform.
“Begin the broadcast at once, send it to the rebel soldiers’ feeds.”
All of the rebel soldiers noticed the 34th army who came out from hidden defensive positions among the trees and encircled the rebel stronghold like a massive fence.
“Attention all rebel soldiers! Hear my proclamation! I am Daisuke Tadakatsu, Grand Prince of the Seiryu, and your only chance of salvation!”
A rectangle filled the corners of many of the soldier’s views.
“That’s the Bloody Prince!” “Huh, the Corrupted One?” “That devil!” “Yamabuki-sama!”
Many of the rebels soon became confused and distraught. Why is the Devil Prince in the HQ? What happened to general Yamabaki? Chaos ensued with the many squads in the vanguard. Their officers issued differing orders, some to hold the front while others were sent back to rescue their superior.
“This is your final chance to lay down your arms! Your grand general has surrendered himself to me.”
“Don’t listen to that traitorous prince! Men you must press on!”
A masked Tatsuo held the disheveled general still and Tadakatsu kneed the man to the ground.
“Pathetic.”
Tadakatsu dug his heel into the fallen general’s face.
“The 34th Army has you all surrounded. Many of your officers have already given up arms. Any of those with the ability to oppose me no longer exists.”
The broadcast cut to the many beaten-up officers in chains.
“Those who even attempt to resist my generous offer will be free to know the devastating power of the 34th.”
“This is crazy!” “What do we do?!”
Some soldiers began to drop their arms, some shot themselves, the few remaining officers attempted to rally their troops. All for naught, any of those with the ability to inspire the troops were captured or killed. A few noble officers committed suicide to preserve their honor.
“I will not repeat this, All rebels will give up arms or else.” Tadakatsu flashed a devilish smile for a second before the broadcast suddenly cut off.
Oh, how typical of that devilish prince.
~~
Throughout the rebel’s rank and file, anarchy prevailed. Throughout the various defense outposts, soldiers either walked out with their hands outstretched and soonly became prisoners of the 34th. Some officers who had enough charisma to keep their retinues got picked off by squads of the 34th or were simply turned into dust by artillerymen.
The cavalry was on the hunt for any soldiers attempting to escape. Many of those caught at the mountain crossing were often officers or noblemen. Some nobles with wealth desperately offered bribes to the cavalryman who responded with swift bondage. Other nobles when caught shot themselves or attempted to defend themselves. The results were still the same, as a bullet found its way into them, one way or another.
“Say, Nori-kun, how’s the reports looking?” Tadakatsu walked over to the lone officer. “I heard it’s going as I predicted.”
Kazuki looked around before speaking, “Tadakatsu, well,” he paused for a second, and looked at a report. “Yeah, I guess it seems so.”
“You weren’t reading over the reports were you?” He smugly said to him, “Writing something for Ichika I presume?” He pulled out a drawer that had an open pen and paper in it. “Ooooh, right on the dot.”
“Hey keep your hands off that, and stop calling me Nori, there are other officers nearby!” He snatched up the paper and placed it into his pocket. “An-, and, my affairs with Ichika are none of your concern.”
Tadakatsu and Noritoshi are childhood friends. Tadakatsu had met the boy while his father was handling a dispute with Kazuki’s father. Noritoshi was of minor noble birth while Tadakatsu was of royal birth. Their families had a certain relationship with each other, the Kazuki clan were skilled officers who had assisted the royal family in seizing land in the past. A dispute like this threatened the balance of the families and even could’ve ripped the families apart.
The boys quickly became friends as a dynamic duo and their friendship forced their fathers to quell their dispute. It had brought together the families and the boys soon became the heads of their family after their fathers had died in a trade conflict many years back. They had even enrolled in the same officer school. The pair were considered marvels of the academy. Tadakatsu had strong innovative strategies that often made their enemies falter while Noritoshi organized the men and made sure logistics were in order. This is not to say that they covered for each other’s weaknesses; the duo’s officership was considered first-class in the Seiryu military.